Îles de Los[ildəlo] are an island group lying off ConakryinGuinea, on the west coast of Africa. Their name is derived from the Portuguese: Ilhas dos Ídolos, "Islands of the Idols".[1] They are located about two kilometres (one nautical mile) off the headland limiting the southern side of Sangareya Bay.[2]
The islands are best known for their beaches and forested interiors and are popular with tourists. Ferries sail to the Los from Conakry.
There are three main islands: Tamara (Fortoba), Kassa and Roume. Île de Corail, Île Blanche, Île Cabris, Île Poulet, Îlot Cabri and Îlot de la Bouteille are smaller islands and islets located in the southern half.[1]
The islands have been inhabited for a long time and rose to prominence for their role in the Atlantic slave trade. The KaloumorKalum dialect of the Baga language was originally spoken on the island by a group of Baga people.[5]
In 1755, Miles Barber of the African Company of Liverpool established a trading post (then known as a factory) there employing workers skilled in ship repair as well as pilots for the local rivers. This led to Kassa being known as "Factory Island".[6] English-language sources in the 18th century gave various corrupted names for the islands including "Isles of Loss", "the Edlesses", "The Idols", or "Las Idolas".[7]
^Fields-Black, Edda L. (2008). Deep Roots: Rice Farmers in West Africa and the African Diaspora. Blacks in the Diaspora. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. ISBN978-0-253-00296-9.
^Haslam, Emily (2012). "Redemption, Colonialism and International Criminal Law". In Kirkby, Diane (ed.). Past law, present histories. Canberra, Acton, A.C.T.: ANU E Press. ISBN978-1-922144-03-4.
^ abMachlan, Peter (1821). Travels into the Baga and Soosoo Countries in 1821. Freetown, Sierra Leone: J. Mitton and Co.
^ abDiallo, Mamadou; Coquery-Vidrovitch, Catherine (2005). Répression et enfermement en Guinée : Le pénitencier de Fotoba et la prison centrale de Conakry de 1900 à 1958. Paris: L'Harmattan. ISBN2-7475-8658-8.